Well, hello and a Happy New Year to you. Strangely, as I
write this, in the first week of January, it doesn\u2019t feel a lot
like the 2021 we were looking forward to when I composed the
last Idle Moments in early November. Still, at least we are not
still in lockdown. No, we are in lockdown again! Never mind,
we have a couple of vaccines being rolled out now \u2013 and at my
age I\u2019m being told I should get my first dose by mid-February;
we\u2019ll see. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, that\u2019s the fun bit out of the way. How about a nonrhyming
limerick; I haven\u2019t blown the dust off them for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s one of mine from 1992:
There was an old soldier named Dewar
Who\u2019d made a long career out of war.
But when he found that his foe
Had stolen his shoe,
said, \u201cThis time you\u2019ve just gone too far!\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\nNow let\u2019s do some number puzzles. I hope they\u2019re not too
obscure; sometimes I have trouble sorting them out the day
after I\u2019ve composed them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 17 P at CJS<\/li>
- 206 B in the (A)HB<\/li>
- 5 VC by M<\/li>
- 29 is the AN of C<\/li>
- 1441 F of KCC<\/li>
- 2 V in a SQ<\/li>
- 31 is the HN whose S is UOT<\/li>
- 2 S in a BP<\/li>
- 6 TTH of G and the P<\/li>
- 8 A of the WV at H<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
This time 5BY4 follows on from November\u2019s and is subtitled
\u201cAvian Taxonomy (Coastal)\u201d. It includes birds you would be
most likely to see at the coast or in estuaries. Watch out,
though; I\u2019ve included a couple specially selected to confuse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Oystercatcher A. Fratercula arctica<\/code><\/li>Gannet B. Stercorarius parasiticus<\/code><\/li>Common Tern C. Calidris alpina<\/code><\/li>Dunlin D. Larus argentatus<\/code><\/li>Puffin E. Sula bassana<\/code><\/li>Manx Sheerwater F. Sterna hirundo<\/code><\/li>Herring Gull G. Numenius arquata<\/code><\/li>Arctic Skua H. Haematopus ostralegus<\/code><\/li>Curlew I. Alle alle<\/code><\/li>Little Auk J. Puffinus puffinus<\/code><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\nAnd so, with an air of awful inevitability, we come to the
general trivia bit. It being the start of a new year (perhaps not
quite so new when this hits your inbox) I have selected
questions based on significant anniversaries. They are not
necessarily centenaries but they are all decennials, so if I am
looking for a year as an answer, it will end with a one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Russia launched the World\u2019s first space station on 19 April. What was its name?<\/li>
- The FA Cup Final held on 23 March 1891 was the first to
use an invention of J A Brodie of Liverpool. What was it?<\/li>- Which French impressionist painter was born in Limoges
on 25 February 1841?<\/li>- On 5 April 1971, Mrs Fran Phipps became the first woman
to reach \u2013 where?<\/li>- The first licensed betting shops were opened in Britain on
1 May \u2013 but in what year?<\/li>- The sculptor Gutzon Borglum was born in Bear Lake, Idaho
on 25 March 1871. What is his most famous sculpture?<\/li>- Capital punishment was abolished on 8 May 1921 in what
European country?<\/li>- On 31 March 1921, at Leicester, which jockey rode Gay
Lord to the first of his 4,870 wins?<\/li>- The trial of Adolf Eichmann for war crimes started on 11
April 1961. In what city was it held?<\/li>- On 27 February 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the United
States constitution was ratified. What was its purpose\/effect?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\nRight, that\u2019s yer lot; you can go and do something interesting
now. Have a good spring.
Andy Pirson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAs usual, here are the solutions to the puzzles set in the
previous Idle Moments column<\/p>\n\n\n\nNumber puzzles:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
- 5 Toes on a Human Foot<\/li>
- 4 Last Songs by Richard Strauss<\/li>
- 16 Formula One Grand Prix Wins of Stirling Moss<\/li>
- 15 Matches in the Six Nations Rugby Championship<\/li>
- 163 Floors of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai<\/li>
- 4 Laps of the Track in a Speedway Race<\/li>
- 8 Triangular Faces on an Octahedron<\/li>
- 4 Firkins in a Barrel<\/li>
- 168 Prime Numbers Under One Thousand<\/li>
- 169 Squares in the London Drinker Crossword Grid<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
5BY4: Avian Taxonomy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Wren \u2013 Troglodytes troglodytes<\/li>
- Coot \u2013 Fulica atra<\/li>
- Black-Headed Gull \u2013 Larus ridibundus<\/li>
- Kestrel \u2013 Falco tinnunculus<\/li>
- Jackdaw \u2013 Corvus monedula<\/li>
- Swift \u2013 Apus apus<\/li>
- Mallard \u2013 Anas platyrhyncos<\/li>
- Mute Swan \u2013 Cygnus olor<\/li>
- Grey Heron \u2013 Ardea cinerea<\/li>
- Mistle Thrush \u2013 Turdus viscivorus<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
General knowledge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
- The Queen made her first televised Christmas message to
the Commonwealth in 1957.<\/li>- The former President of the USA who died on 26
December 1972, at the age of 88 was Harry S Truman.<\/li>- Samuel Pepys began his famous diary on 1 January in 1660.<\/li>
- The Manchester Ship Canal first opened to traffic on 1
January in 1894.<\/li>- On 2 January 1839, Louis Daguerre took the world\u2019s first
photograph of the moon.<\/li>- The first Roman Catholic to become President of the USA
was John F Kennedy.<\/li>- And the first Roman Catholic to become Vice President of
the USA was Joe Biden.<\/li>- The longest month in the year is October (at 31 days plus
one hour, at the end of British Summer Time)<\/li>- We all know that the tallest free-standing structure in the
UK is Emley Moor Transmitting Station but the tallest
structure in the UK is Skelton Transmitting Station in
Cumbria, a cable stayed tower that at 365 metres is about
35 metres taller than Emley Moor.<\/li>- The arena that contains features called dedans, tambour
and penthouses is a real (or royal) tennis court.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, hello and a Happy New Year to you. Strangely, as Iwrite this, in the first week of January, it doesn\u2019t feel a lotlike the 2021 we were looking forward… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-idle-moments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1458"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1461,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458\/revisions\/1461"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}